Father Song tried to smooth things over from the side, “Second Son-in-Law, there’s no need to pity her. This ignorant fool should just kneel!”
…
Dugu Yu needed to take his medicine on time, and Song Yunying, fearing the servants might make a mistake, personally watched over it in the small kitchen.
Suddenly, the door curtain was lifted.
“Yunying, brewing medicine for Ninth Brother?” Dugu Kan walked in. “It smells wonderful.”
In the past, he had hated the smell of medicinal herbs the most.
To stop her from becoming a military doctor, he had once burned down her herb storeroom.
Song Yunying had spent a lifetime with him, yet in the end, she never figured out which of his words were true and which were false.
“This is Codonopsis subglobosa—it smells absolutely foul. Where do you get ‘wonderful’ from?” Song Yunying said quietly.
“Is that so? I don’t feel that way at all.”
Song Yunying guessed his purpose. “Fourth Sister is at the Jia Ci. Has Second Highness come to the wrong place?”
She fanned the fire vigorously with a fan, making Dugu Kan cough uncontrollably.
“Can’t I just talk to you? Cough, cough…”
“I’m very busy,” Song Yunying said, fanning the flames.
The more she tried to drive him away, the more he insisted on approaching.
“Yunying, I think you misunderstand me. You’re still blaming me for the marriage swap, aren’t you?”
She had cared so much for him back then, sending him medicine and letters.
If not for the marriage swap, they should have been a couple.
Song Yunying sneered, “My marriage was decreed by imperial grace above and arranged by my parents below. What does it have to do with Second Highness?”
“Are you so eager to cut ties with me because of Ninth Brother?”
“Nonsense.”
“Song Yunying, what exactly have I done to offend you?”
He couldn’t understand how the woman who once had eyes only for him could change so quickly.
Was all the tenderness from before just a lie?
Song Yunying slammed the fan onto the stove. “Second Highness, since we’ve come this far, I might as well speak plainly.”
“You pretend to be a gentleman, and I play the part of a virtuous lady. We could have stayed out of each other’s way.”
“But you insist on tearing down this thin veil, standing right in front of me to disgust me. Don’t blame me if I show you no mercy in the future.”
Dugu Kan flushed with embarrassment.
“You say I disgust you?”
“Yes, disgust.”
He suddenly grabbed her wrist. “We’re both born of concubines. What makes you so noble? Do you look down on me too, just like the others?!”
This was Dugu Kan’s sore spot.
His mother was a foot-washing maid, and because of this, he had endured endless scorn.
When Song Yunying first married him, their life in the palace was extremely difficult.
Everyone was polite on the surface, but behind their backs, there was endless gossip.
He had desperately tried to earn his father’s approval and his brothers’ respect, but what was the use?
Song Yunying mocked him, “Dugu Kan, you truly live a pitiful and wretched life.”
“Let go of me!”
She was tightly held by him, unable to fight back.
Usually, he could hide it well—
his upright character, his cultivation in both civil and martial arts.
But somehow, in front of Song Yunying, his true nature was easily exposed.
“What do you think you are? Do you think clinging to Old Ninth’s coattails will bring you peace?”
In that moment of eye contact, the nightmares from Song Yunying’s past life came crashing down—
Snow. The military camp.
She was naked, pierced through the chest by his sword.
“Dugu Kan, you’re despicable and shameless!”
Song Yunying didn’t know where she found the strength, but she grabbed a handful of medicinal dregs and flung them hard into his face.
“Ah—” Dugu Kan’s eyes stung with excruciating pain.
He staggered a few steps and collapsed against the wall.
Song Yunying wanted to flee, but he yanked her back again. "Still trying to run?"
"You care so much about Ninth Brother—you must not have seen him when his illness flares up yet!"
"Just wait and see, it’ll be quite a show!"
Wasn’t she trying to draw a clear line between them?
Wasn’t she trying to climb the high branch of the Empress’s legitimate son?
He refused to believe that when she saw Dugu Yu’s true face, she could still act so arrogantly!
"Second Brother, you seem quite idle—"
A sudden voice came from outside the door, and a figure in goose-yellow embroidered dark brocade appeared.
It was Dugu Yu, standing tall and straight.
The slanting sunlight filtered through the door curtain and fell precisely on his brow, casting a golden glow over the stray hairs on his forehead.
With a quiet smile, he looked even more like a bright, youthful boy.
"Ninth Brother… why are you here?"
Dugu Kan hurriedly released his grip.
"That’s what I should be asking you."
Dugu Yu subtly moved to shield Song Yunying behind him. "You seem quite adept at pulling my wife around."
Dugu Kan wiped the medicinal residue from his face, all his earlier bluster gone.
"Ninth Brother, you’ve misunderstood. I suddenly felt unwell and wanted to ask my sister-in-law to take my pulse. Yes, take my pulse."
All three knew it was an act, yet they played along, line by line.
"Interesting," Dugu Yu said with a slight lift of his brow. "Your mother washed the Empress Dowager’s feet all the way to the Emperor’s bed, and you take a pulse all the way to someone’s palm. Truly, mother and son are of one heart."
"I am at least a few years older than you. Must you be so aggressive?" Dugu Kan’s face turned ashen.
"If you dare to do it, don’t be afraid of others talking about it."
Dugu Yu made it clear he held no regard for him. "Apologize."
He pulled Song Yunying closer. "I don’t want to repeat myself."
Faced with such humiliation, Dugu Kan still didn’t dare to resist.
He forced a stiff expression. "I have offended my sister-in-law. Please forgive me, Ninth Brother and sister-in-law. In the future… I won’t do it again."
Dugu Yu pointed to the medicine on the stove. "This medicine is excellent for clearing heat and reducing fire. Second Brother, drink it to calm your mind before you leave."
It was clearly just medicinal dregs soaked in water—what clearing heat and reducing fire?
Dugu Kan knew he was in the wrong.
Holding his breath, he tilted his head back and gulped down the dreg-filled water. Before he could even turn around, he nearly vomited.
Dugu Yu patted his back. "Second Brother, this is just the beginning. There’s plenty more bitterness to come."
Dugu Kan gritted his teeth secretly but managed to force a smile. "Thank you for the advice, Ninth Brother."
Without looking back, Dugu Yu took Song Yunying’s hand and led her away.
She remained silent the entire way back to their room.
Dugu Yu broke the silence. "Do you hate him?"
"Do I?"
"Yes."
Back in the small kitchen, she had clearly lost her composure.
But from what he knew, the third young lady of the Duke of Song’s household had always been honest and well-behaved, far from someone with a sharp tongue.
Dugu Yu said, "Tell me the reason."